Sacrifice
by xxAkira-chanxx
Summary: Truthfully, Itachi loved Sasuke and would do anything for his little brother. Even kill his entire family. In the end, Sasuke still had time and Itachi's had run out.


A/N: Short Itachi centric drabble. Hope you enjoy!

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**Death is the mother of Beauty; hence from her,**

**Alone, shall come fulfillment to our dreams **

**And our desires **

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There was such a twisted beauty in death. The dead bodies of his family were so vivid and alive covered in crimson. All of their faces held the same expression, one only achieved in the absence of life. Freely and unhindered without disappointment. Without their disapproval. He had their attention as he always did, they stared at him with fear and disbelief a change from their perpetual expressions of awe and expectation. The Uchiha clan was rotted with the lust for power, the members of it slowly began decaying from sin then age. He brought his blade down, spraying blood everywhere as the price for their repentance. It was an order by the In death his mother was the prettiest, like a delicate china doll with porcelain white skin and deep midnight eyes. Untainted by red like most Uchihas including himself. He had to preserve her while she was still pure, his darling mother. The red was so vivid against her snowy skin; a flush of color on bleak surroundings, like a rainbow after the rain.

_"I-Itachi...my son, why?"_

Death was inescapable it was inevitable. All life ends with death and all life begins with death. It was an infinite cycle of repetition and rebirth. He had to end their lives, it was necessary for their rebirth. The lives were too tainted with sin to continue living. He would bear this on his own, his hands forever stained.

Yet, he couldn't bear to kill his precious Sasuke. No, he was still young and pure like freshly fallen snow.

_"Ne, Aniki can you please help me train?" Sasuke pleaded cutely with wide onyx eyes, radiating with innocence._

He wouldn't allow them to mold and twist his little brother into what they wanted him to be; not like what they did to him. Such a proud clan, corrupted with the insatiable hunger for power. His life was decided and set in stone before he was born setting him on a path he had no choice but to walk.

_"As expected of my son." Fugaku said with cold expectant eyes. "If you succeed this mission, your enlistment in the ANBU will be official." _

_Itachi stared back with a mask of indifference. _

_Fugaku's sharingan surfaced. "Understood?"_

He had always felt no matter what decisions he made that it was all according to plan. He suffocated under the chains of his birth and he had to break free. His family was nothing but an illusion, a superficial act to mask the ugly truth. There was no childhood for him; it was a tedious journey to becoming the best, where he was still pliable in ambitions and state of mind. They thought they shaped him in their image of perfection but how _wrong_ they actually were. For a family of geniuses they remained ignorant towards the end, where it was already too late.

_"I've should have known better..." Fugaku murmured as red coated his lips and poured onto the floor. "I lost control of you a while ago."_

_"No, you never did have control." Itachi brought his blade down in a powerful arc and then the faint beating of a heart abruptly stopped. _

Fugaku Uchiha. The source and core of the corruption, the heart of the clan. His take on being a father was to his own perspective, not the traditional role yet he retained some initial qualities. Sasuke always vied for his attention, eager to please him so that he would be worthy in his father's eyes. Itachi never needed that man's approval because every praise from him was another injection of poison, but to Sasuke it was everything.

_"Aniki, why is the Uchiha crest on the Military Police's emblem?"_

_"Ah, so you've noticed." _

_"Of course I have!" Sasuke beamed as he tightened his arms around Itachi's neck, resting his chin on his brother's shoulder._

_Itachi closed his eyes briefly and continued. "Well, the Uchiha Clan's ancestors were the ones who established the police force which is why our crest is on the emblem. Since long ago, the Uchiha Clan has been responsible for enforcing and protecting the village's public order. The only shinobi who can enforce the laws are superior ones." _

_"Wow! Father sure is amazing," Sasuke smiled. "Aniki, are you going to join?"_

_"...Maybe." _

_"You should! When I grow up, I'm going to join the police force too and tomorrow Father will come to my entrance ceremony at the Academy. It's the first step to my dream!" _

_Itachi just smiled._

All Sasuke wanted was their father's recognition. Itachi had to make a hard decision because he rather be hated by his little brother than watch him walk the same path as he did. He loved his brother too much to risk him being tainted by their family. Sasuke still had a choice. He had to be strong and use a facade with Sasuke, he would make his little brother hate him and tell him lies. The truth would have crushed him for sure, more so then this. Itachi would give his parents and the rest of the Uchihas one last gift and make it seem to Sasuke that they died unjustly, that they would be missed in death.

_"I-Itachi....w-why. Sasuke sobbed, his voice thick with tears and his eyes wide with disbelief. Itachi stood frozen in spot, his sharingan like two pools of hardened crimson. It was thanks to years of being an ANBU, he was able to keep his composure intact. His heart ached within his chest but he ignored the guilt. He ignored the agonized voice and the fresh watery tears. For this moment, he would ignore his heart and humanity. He had to._

_"Foolish little brother." Itachi spoke, revealing his mangekyo sharingan. Sasuke let out a heartbreaking tortured scream as he saw his family's deaths, their bodies covered in blood. That one scream, tested Itachi's will to it's breaking point. _

_Sasuke's wide onyx eyes were lidded and dull with pain. The sparkling dark eyes were replaced by a dull blue-grey as he collapsed on the wodden floor, breathing heavily._

_"Why? Why did you...?" _

_"To measure my capacity."_

_"Measure...your capacity? That's all? Just because of that....everyone..." Sasuke breathed as he struggled to stand up._

_"It was necessary." _

_"What was?" Sasuke hissed. He then charged at Itachi with fury. "Don't mess with me!" He roared._

_Itachi aimed a powerful blow at Sasuke's stomach. He then crumpled to the floor with a thud. Sasuke shakily stared at Itachi with fear in his grey eyes. The way he was staring at Itachi was like he was staring at a monster. Itachi cringed inwardly. Tears welled up in his little brother's eyes. Itachi stepped forward. Sasuke's head snapped up, with pure fear saturating the air. He immediately picked himself up and ran out the house. _

_"Don't kill me! I don't want to die!" Sasuke screamed with tears streaming down his pale cheeks. _

Itachi had to make Sasuke hate him and fill his head with lies. He had to give him a motive for revenge against him.

_"Come back and face me when you have the same eyes as me." Itachi spoke before Sasuke collapsed and lost consciousness._

Itachi sighed heavily. It was all necessary because he would give everything up for his little brother. _Everything_.

In the end, Sasuke still had time and Itachi's had run out.

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Thanks for reading and please don't forget to review!


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